Int. J. Morphol., 31(1):271-279, 2013. Body Height and Its Estimation Utilizing Arm Span Measurements in Serbian Adults Altura Corporal y su Estimación Utilizando Mediciones de Envergadura en Adultos Serbios Stevo Popovic*; Dusko Bjelica*; Slavko Molnar**; Damjan Jaksic** & Selcuk Akpinar*** POPOVIC, S.; BJELICA, D.; MOLNAR, S.; JAKSIC, D. & AKPINAR, S. Body height and its estimation utilizing arm span Measurements in Serbian adults. Int. J. Morphol., 31(1):271-279, 2013. SUMMARY: Anthropologists recognized the tallness of nations in the Dinaric Alps long time ago. As the modern Serbians fall more into the Dinaric racial classification than any other does, the purpose of this study was to examine the body height in Serbian adults as well as the relationship between arm span as an alternative to estimating the body height, which vary in different ethnic and racial groups. The nature and scope of this study analyzes 394 students (318 men, aged 20.13±1.47 and 76 women, aged 19.59±1.46) from the University of Novi Sad to be subjects. The anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of the ISAK. Means and standard deviations were obtained. A comparison of means of body heights and arm spans within each gender group and between genders were carried out using a t-test. The relationships between body height and arm span were determined using simple correlation coefficients and their 95% confidence interval. Then a linear regression analysis was performed to examine the extent to which the arm span can reliably predict body height. The results have shown that male Serbians are 181.96±6.74 cm tall and have an arm span of 184.78±8.41 cm, while female Serbians are 166.82±5.88 cm tall and have an arm span of 164.67±8.09 cm. Compared to other studies, the results of this study have shown that both genders make Serbian population one of the tallest nations on the earth. Moreover, the arm span reliably predicts body height in both genders. However, the estimation equations, which were obtained in Serbians, are substantially different alike in other populations, since arm span was close to body heights: in men 2.82±4.89 cm more than the body height and in women 2.15±4.68 cm less than the body height. This confirms the necessity for developing separate height models for each population. KEY WORDS: Prediction; Standing height; Stature; Armspan; Serbia. INTRODUCTION The Republic of Serbia, formerly the political and east, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the cultural center of Yugoslavia, is an independent, democratic south, and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and state with a multiparty parliamentary system. The Montenegro to the west. Additionally, it borders Albania governmental system is based on the division of power into through Kosovo (as defined under UNSCR 1244/99), whose legislative, executive and judiciary. This country is also the status as part of Serbia is disputed. Northern Serbia is mainly northern remain of the former State Union of Serbia and flat, while central parts are highlands. Going to the south, Montenegro. In 2006 Montenegro voted, after a referendum the hills gradually turn into mountains. The mountains of in favor of independence, to leave the State Union. So Serbia Serbia can be divided into the Rhodope Mountains, the has been obliged to officially proclaim its independence on Carpathian–Balkan Mountains and the Dinaric Alps. Up 5 June 2006, as the successor state to the State Union of to 30 mountain peaks are over 2000 meters above sea level. Serbia and Montenegro. Today, The Republic of Serbia It is also interesting to mention that most of Serbia has a covers the area of 88,361 sq. kilometers. It is located at the temperate continental climate. A continental climate crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the prevails in the mountainous, whilst the climate in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of Serbian southwest borders on the Mediterranean subtropical the Balkan Peninsula. Republic of Serbia is landlocked and and continental (Ministry of Environment and Spatial borders Hungary to the north, Romania and Bulgaria to the Planning, 2010). * University of Montenegro, Narodne omladine bb, 81400 Niksic, Montenegro. ** University of Novi Sad, Lovcenska 16, Novi Sad, Serbia. ***Nevsehir Üniversitesi, 2000 Evler Mah. Zübeyde Hanım Cad., 50300 Nevsehir, Turkey. 271 POPOVIC, S.; BJELICA, D.; MOLNAR, S.; JAKSIC, D. & AKPINAR, S. Body height and its estimation utilizing arm span Measurements in serbian adults. Int. J. Morphol., 31(1):271-279, 2013. The total population of the Republic of Serbia, populations is so beneficial as well as its estimation according to the 1991 census, was 7,595,636 inhabitants, utilizing arm span measurements, mostly due to the reason and according to the 2002 census 7,498,001 and 2011 that measurement of body height is important in many census 7,241,295. Those data are only estimation taking settings (Bjelica et al., 2012). into account that census was not conducted in Kosovo, which has been under United Nations administration since It is already well known in scientific literature that 1999 (according to CIA estimates, Kosovo has around 1.8 the measurement of body height is important in many million inhabitants). However, 2011 census included over settings: it is an important measure of body size and gives 200,000 internally displaced persons from Kosovo, who an assessment of nutritional status (Datta Banik, 2011), as has been counted as a permanent population. Estimates well as an important measure of determination of basic show that during the period 1991–2011, there was a energy requirements, standardization of measures of physical significant increase in population growth due to intense capacity and adjusting drug dosage, and evaluation of violent migrations during the 1990s. Moreover, the ethnic children’s growth, prediction and standardization of population of the Republic of Serbia is very diverse because physiological variables such as lung volumes, muscle of the country's turbulent past. Serbs are the majority and strength, glomerular filtration and metabolic rate etc. represent the largest ethnic group in Serbia, representing (Golshan et al., 2003, 2007; Mohanty, 2001; Ter Goon et 83% of the total population, while 37 nationalities live al., 2011). However, the exact body height cannot always jointly with them in Serbia. With a population of 290,000, be determined the usual way because of various deformities Hungarians are the second largest ethnic group in Serbia, of the extremities or in patients who have undergone representing 3.9%. Other minority groups include amputations or similar injuries. In such circumstances, an Bosnians, Roma, Albanians, Croats, Bulgarians, estimate of body height has to be derived from other reliable Montenegrins, Macedonians, Slovaks, Vlachs, Romanians, anthropometric indicators such as hand and foot lengths and Chinese (Ministry of Environment and Spatial (Agnihotri et al., 2007, 2008; Kanchan et al., 2008; Rastogi Planning). It is also important to highlight that Serbia has et al., 2008; Sanli et al., 2005), knee height (Fatmah, 2005; the largest refugee population in Europe (Tanjug, 2007). Hickson & Frost, 2003; Karadag et al., 2012), length of the Refugees and internally displaced persons in Serbia contain forearm (Ilayperuma et al., 2010), length of the sternum about half a million people (between 7% and 7.5% of its (Menezes et al., 2009, 2011), vertebral column length population) sought refuge in the country following the se- (Nagesh & Pradeep Kumar, 2006), sitting height (Fatmah), ries of Yugoslav wars, mainly from Croatia, and to a lesser length of scapula (Campobasso et al., 1998), arm span extent from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the internally (Aggrawal et al., 2000; Bjelica et al.; Datta Banik; Fatmah; displaced persons from Kosovo, which are currently the Hickson & Frost; Jarzem & Gledhill, 1993; Mohanty et al.; most numerous at over 200,000. Meanwhile, it is estimated Ter Goon et al.) as well as cranial sutures (Rao et al., 2009), that 300,000 people left Serbia during the 1990s alone, skull (Bidmos, 2006; Bidmos & Asala, 2005), facial and around 20% of those had college or higher education measurements (Sahni et al., 2010) etc. Therefore, all these (Yugoslav Survey, 2003; EMG, 2008). Serbia has a anthropometric indicators which are used as an alternative comparatively old overall population (among the 10 oldest to estimate body height are very important in predicting age- in the world), mostly due to low birth rates. In addition, related loss in body height. Also in identifying individuals Serbia has among the most negative population growth with disproportionate growth abnormalities and skeletal rates in the world, ranking 218th out of 230 countries dysplasia or body height loss during surgical procedures on overall (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). the spine (Mohanty et al.), as well as predicting body height in many older people as it is very difficult to measure it The tallness of the nations in the Dinaric Alps has precisely, and sometimes impossible because of mobility been recognized by European anthropologists more than problems and kyphosis (Hickson & Frost). 100 years ago (Pineau et al., 2005). As the modern Serbians, like the rest of the nations from Former Yugos- According to all mentioned above, the authors lavia, fall more into the Dinaric racial classification than believed it would be reasonable to find the effectiveness of any other, it is assumed by the authors of this study that using various body indicators in estimating body height in Serbian adults might be equally tall or at least very close the Serbian population. Furthermore, several studies have to the tallest nations in the Europe: Dutch (male: 183.8 reported the effectiveness of using various body parameters cm; female: 170.7 cm) and Montenegrins (male: 183.21 in predicting body height and arm span was found to be the cm; female: 168.37 cm).